Kids can be cruel. In elementary school, anything that sets you apart can be a catalyst for open ridicule and teasing. Not only was I one of the ONLY Asian students in the entire school – which by the way was in a small town, so the ENTIRE school was not that big, but in the sea of Anglo Saxons, my black hair, slanted eyes, and unique name made me stand out big time. And I was also one of the smartest girls in every class I was in. (How’s that for stereotype?)
My name was devised by my mother. “Hanssie” is the phonetic spelling of my Chinese name. It means a type of poem from the “Han” people, who are the largest ethnic group in China. It is pronounced pretty much how it is spelled (rhymes with “fancy.”)
For a little girl longing to fit in with everyone else, I hated my name. But even more so, coupled with the fact that I have no middle name, and my maiden last name was “Ho.” Yes, that’s right, even as I type this I cringe. It was bad enough in grade school, but man, in high school…well, you can only imagine. Imagine the awkwardness of high school and add puberty and emotions and acne and the name “Hanssie Ho.” How unimaginably cruel. (And the horror remained after college when I had to go back to the same high school as a substitute teacher…that’s a story for another day)
In college, to my immense relief, I got engaged to a man with a relatively normal last name. Even so, when our wedding announcement made it to the papers, the “Ho-Trainer” wedding made its debut on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show as one of the “Headlines.” Go ahead and laugh. It’s pretty funny, especially since the paper misspelled “Trainor.”
Today, I am proud of my name. It’s exclusively mine and it is unshared by anyone else I know or come in contact with. I am honored by my family name and it will always be a part of me (even though the second I said “I do,” I was at the social security office with my forms filled out!) Strange as it sounds my name has shaped me into the person I am today.
Hi Friend! Can I say DITTO to your story? I love my name as well, as unique as it is. Love the pictures above, and I am looking forward to our time together on the 25th. Love ya.
Funny that you write this today; I had a long conversation about naming your child today. And about parents that name their kids silly names. But when a name has a meaning and a purpose, that is an entirely different story.
ok, that is SERIOUSLY funny about Leno. i totally laughed out loud.
good for you for embracing your name! (you might as well, cuz you’re stuck with it anyway, right?) 🙂
OMG…Im sorry Hanssie but Im laughing so hard my eyes are watering! So funny. I love this post.
Anybody who can rock a fedora is cool in my & Joy’s book, of course…
=Matt=
your story is so cute! i’m sure not so cute at the time. kids can definitely be cruel. love the image of you in the hat tho!
I can definitely empathize. It’s not every day you find a Mexican little girl with the name Jacquelyne…I got it all from Jack-o-latern to you name it! This was a cute post!
I can kind of feel your pain… being “the yank” growing up as the only American kid in an English (as in living in the United Kingdom, English) school I was often the butt of many jokes! What was worse was when I moved back to the states as a teenager to a small town in Louisiana I was then known as “the euro girl” because I sounded too British!! Now, I’m just me and I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t “the yank” or “the euro girl”. I’m loving your boredom shots by the way!! LOVE the hat, Hanssie, you rock it perfectly!
ouch hanssie. i woulda run to the name changing office asap as well. bahahahah! you are too damn cute. my boring butt name has no character. not even worth a mention in the books. google your name and you are right… it’s exclusively yours.
your name is beautiful!!!!!!!
I love this post! Very inspirational. And that shot of you by Stephanie is TOO cute!
Hanssie, Oh my gosh!! I LOVE this post!! I’m so glad I am getting the opportunity to work with you soon!! We will have fun! The first thing my husband said, (verbatim) is, “well anyone with a name as cute as that sounds good to me!!!” Another thing in common. My maiden name is “Gunn.” Fun in school too. ox deb P.S. I got two hats for Christmas and LOVE that hat shot!!!!! love it!!!